How's It Going?

How are you doing? Be honest. If you’re doing well, great! If not, that’s okay—you’re not the only one. 

You’re probably tired of hearing about COVID, but its effects are something we all need to talk about. At the beginning of this school year, many schools returned to in-person learning: five days a week, six-ish hours a day, and extracurricular activities too. If you’re still working on getting back into the swing of things, trust me, that’s all right. We haven’t had a normal school year in over a year and a half. Staying at home most of the time to going to school every day, sleeping in to waking up early, and spending most of the day alone to being surrounded by people are HUGE changes.

With the TSA season ramping up on top of everything else, you may be feeling a bit overwhelmed and as someone who is a very busy person, I completely understand. It feels like a thousand things are being thrown around at once, and there’s not much to do except take the hits as they come. This constant stress obviously isn’t good for you, so what can you do about it?

 Below are some of the typical suggestions for taking care of your mental health.

1. Take a break- Whether it’s 5 minutes or a few days, take time to de-stress and focus on yourself.
2. Get some sleep- Not only will you feel better after a good night of sleep, it will help you focus better in class and improve both your mental and physical health.
3. Exercise regularly- Take a walk or do a few push-ups. Getting some exercise can improve your emotional state and help you feel more motivated. 

While following this advice is certainly helpful, I know that many of you will probably ignore everything I wrote in that last paragraph, considering that many TSA members (including myself) have worked for hours on end on their events without stopping, barely sleep in the days leading up to conferences, and/or don’t enjoy exercising. Luckily, there are plenty of other ways to take care of your mental health.

Here’s my advice for the average TSA member. (Just for clarification, this advice is also suggested by actual experts.)

1. Talk to someone- If you’re having a bad day, tell a family member or rant to a friend. Writing out all your problems on a piece of paper works too! You’ll feel much better afterwards and it may help solve some of your problems as well.
2. Do something you enjoy- Whether it’s hanging out with friends, playing a sport, or watching a movie, incorporate things you genuinely enjoy into your life. It will help alleviate stress and improve your overall happiness.
3. Take a few deep breaths- Taking some deep breaths can help you calm down and recenter yourself when you’re stressed or anxious. It takes less than a minute and can be done anywhere, so if you can’t bring yourself to do anything else listed in this article, try this one out.

We’ve all been through a lot over the past couple of years and getting back to normal isn’t going to be easy, but I hope some of this advice helps. If you ever need someone to talk to, I’ll always be here for any member of our TSA community. Tell me how your day has been or send me a huge rant at reporter [at] patsa.org. I promise I’ll read every word and help in any way I can. Until then, take care :)

Yours truly,

Michelle Zheng